Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on why push-button AI is “insulting” to musicians

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Technology, Business

4.3 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, I’m talking with Kakul Srivastava, CEO of music creation platform Splice, which is one of the biggest marketplaces around for loops and samples. You can just go sign up, pay the money, and download these loops to try to make pop hits all day long. Take, for instance, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, which was composed almost entirely out of Splice loops. Now, if you’re a Decoder listener, you know that some of my favorite conversations are with people building technology products for creatives, and that I am obsessed with how technology changes the music industry, because it feels like whatever happens to music happens to everything else five years later. So this one was really interesting, because Splice is all wrapped in all of that. Links: Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso highlights the way new music is made | Bloomberg Major record labels sue AI company behind ‘BBL Drizzy’ | Verge Splice CEO’s message for AI sceptics? “Trust the artists” | MusicTech Splice launches voice recording on Splice Mobile at SXSW | Splice OpenAI & Google ask government to let them train AI on content they don’t own | Verge AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google | Verge Pharrell Williams: $7.3 million Blurred Lines verdict threatens all artists | Verge Lady Gaga, nostalgia, and the ‘reheated nachos’ phenomenon in pop culture | Her World AI music startups say copyright violation is just rock and roll | Verge Suno CEO says musicians don’t actually like making music | Vice Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/632036 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for the show comes from Alex Partners.
0:04.0	The market is evolving at a breakneck speed, and we're only starting to understand how disruptive
0:08.8	forces such as AI, cyber threats and tariffs will change the game.
0:13.6	The winners will be those who prioritize execution and know when to adapt, and for unparalleled
0:19.2	insights, they can turn to the Alex Partners Disruption Index.
0:23.3	Stay tuned to hear more about it later in the show. In the face of disruption, businesses trust Alex Partners to get things done, when it really matters.
0:32.0	Read more on the latest trends in C-Suite insights at Disruption.Alexpartners.com.
0:38.2	Disruption.A.L.X. Partners.com.
0:43.2	Support comes from ServiceNow. We're for people doing the fulfilling work they actually want to do.
0:48.9	That's why this ad was written and read by a real person and not AI. You know what people
0:53.5	don't want to do?
0:54.7	Boring, busy work. Now with AI agents built into the ServiceNow platform, you can automate
0:59.4	millions of repetitive tasks in every corner of your business, IT, HR, and more, so your people can
1:05.3	focus on the work that they want to do. That's putting AI agents to work for people. It's your turn.
1:12.7	Visit servicenow.com.
1:18.1	Support for Decoder comes from ARM. Have you ever wondered what's powering your smartphone and other devices we interact with daily? Or what lies at the heart of life-saving drug discoveries and robotic
1:23.3	surgeries? The answer is ARM. Arm technology is moving the world forward, enabling AI to create a more meaningful, more
1:30.4	connected life for everyone, everywhere.
1:33.1	Arm believes the future isn't about technology.
1:35.7	It's about people and the possibilities technology can offer us all.
1:39.4	The future is built on Arm.
1:40.7	You can discover more at arm.com slash discover.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Vox Media Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Vox Media Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.